Retail establishments such as department stores use many different means within their premises to promote their merchandise. In-store marketing aids may include signage and banners. High-end department stores may also use lighting, music and even live models or solicitors. While posters, pictures or images are often used in this regard, the display of actual merchandise is often preferred for certain merchandise. To that end, display cases work particularly well for those items subject to a high degree of personal preference and selection by the consumer, such as cosmetics, perfumes, and jewelry. It is therefore important that the merchandise be displayed in a manner that is attractive and eye-catching without being obstructed or obscured by the display case. The item on display should ultimately capture the attention and focus of the customer, not music or lighting which can be distracting. Thus, it can be a fine line between a display that is too subdued and ordinary versus one that is too busy and too excessive. Moreover, ideal marketing aids are those that complement and cooperate with the display case and the merchandise displayed. The display case and any other coordinating marketing aids should draw the customers""attention, but only as a stage or platform on which the merchandise is the true showpiece.
An ideal display case that meets all of the foregoing conditions should also be adaptable to changes and updating with minimum effort and labor. Since promotional campaigns change as frequently as fashion trends, a display case should be readily adaptable to be used for different merchandise and different promotional themes. Such an ideal display case should lend itself to promoting, for example, cosmetics during a holiday weekend, men""s cologne the following week, and then perhaps evening shoes and purses the following weekend.
Attendant with the use of display cases within a store is the efficient use of floor space and/or wall space which is often limited. Many finer retail establishments follow strict guidelines on maintaining their premises clean and orderly. Cluttered countertops and floor space pose an eye-sore for shoppers, if not also a safety hazard for shoppers and employees alike. Thus, where display cases are used, they should occupy a relatively minimal amount of space. And, where marketing aids are used with the display case, such aids should also occupy a relatively minimal amount of space. If possible, marketing aids should be incorporated with the display case if not only for space efficiency, but for overall aesthetics of the display case, as well.
Moreover, in an age where interactive technology has become the norm, a display case should be adaptable to provide interactive capabilities or at least user options. Thus, a display case system that is responsive to customers is ultimately more modern, more reflective of the present interest and trend in technology and therefore ultimately a better vehicle for showcasing merchandise.
The present invention is directed to a merchandise display case having a rear-projection panel with a receiving surface, and an image viewing surface on which the merchandise is supported, and a projector adapted to project an image that is visible on the image viewing surface of the panel. In accordance with the invention, the display case presents a unique and intriguing visual experience as provided by a view that superimposes or otherwise incorporates the merchandise with the image emanating from the panel on which the merchandise is supported. The display case may include a mirror oriented to reflect the image from the projector onto the receiving surface of the panel and the image is preferably dynamic and thematically related to the merchandise displayed. The foregoing components of the display case may be housed in a frame configured with a drawer in which the rear-projection panel is situated. Moreover, the image may be of an intensity such that it illuminates the merchandise situated on the rear-projection panel.
The display system of the present invention comprises the aforementioned display case, at least one user input device, a plurality of one image sources adapted to provide the image to the projector and a control unit connected to the image sources, the projector and the user input device, where the control unit is configured to receive user input signals for controlling at least one of the image source to transmit signals representative of the image to the projector. In accordance with the invention, the display system presents a view combining the merchandise and an image visible on the panel which is controlled by the system in an manner that is responsive to and interactive with a user. The image sources of the system may include a VCR, a DVD player and/or a video camera configured to transmit video image signals to the image projector of the display case. The control unit can operate the system between a default mode and an interactive mode depending on whether a customer""s presence is detected by a sensor. User input devices for enabling communication between a customer and the system may include a touch screen, a keypad and/or a heat-sensitive touch pad. A printer is also included to enable the customer to print information stored in the control unit and/or displayed on the rear-projection panel.